Australians should read Delmer’s rational reaction to John Howard’s irrational foray into American politics if they can handle the cringe factor.
Fluoride and bottled water
I know from past experience that writing about fluoride provokes strong views, especially from people who oppose compulsory fluoridation of water supplies.
I’m inclined though to accept the anecdotal evidence I’ve personally heard from dentists and health experts that tooth decay is higher in areas that don’t have fluoridated water.
There is a push now for fluoride to be added to bottled water, according to The Age. I think bottled water producers should be allowed to add fluoride if they want to, and possibly the government should offer them a price incentive to do so. However, it should not be made compulsory.
I suspect the increasing rates of tooth decay are more likely to be the result of poor oral hygiene and children drinking too much lemonade, Coke and fruit juice. There are times we just insist on our kids drinking water if they say they are thirsty.
Managed funds bonanza
The Age reports that Australians have $1.1 trillion invested in managed funds, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
It’s no surprise really, given that compulsory superannuation has been part of the landscape since the mid 1980s.
Federal Treasurer Peter Costello is quoted as saying: “I have no doubt that the volume of money that Australians have in managed funds and directly in the stock market has contributed greatly to the increase in stock market values.”
Of course that is true. I’m not a guru, so please don’t read this comment as investment advice, but it’s hard to see the Australian stock market collapsing while so much money is slushing around looking for a home.
Personally, I’d like to see the government initiate or support the creation of infrastructure bonds and mandate a small percentage of investment from superannuation funds into regional projects.
I was involved in 2001 with the Australian Regional Investment Plan, which recommended this. The government at the time made encouraging noises but never progressed towards implementation.
Players snub Allan Border
The 163 players who have represented Australia at one-day international cricket have omitted former skipper Allan Border from their popularly elected best-ever team.
The selected side in batting order is: Adam Gilchrist, Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting (vc), Dean Jones, Steve Waugh (c), Michael Bevan, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Greg Chappell (12th man).
I won’t say who Border should replace, except to comment that for consistency, versatility and fielding I rate him ahead of Steve Waugh, Andrew Symonds and Dean Jones. And Greg Chappell didn’t play enough ODIs, especially outside Australia, to warrant selection ahead of Border.
People look at Border’s stats (6524 runs at 30.62 and 73 wickets at 28.36) but forget that he played in an era when the bowlers were better and the grounds were bigger. At the start of his career he was ducking and weaving the West Indian greats. New Zealand and Pakistan also had some handy fast bowlers.
The younger players who selected the team might only remember Border’s final days when he obviously wasn’t at peak speed and fitness.
It’s a shame that an Australian great hasn’t been treated with the respect he deserves.
Another WA minister sacked
Occasionally in journalism you have a buzzing kind of day in which significant events unfold and you simply have to process the information as it emerges against the backdrop of closing deadlines.
This was such a day as the Corruption and Crime Commission continued its interrogation of Goldfields Esperance Minister John Bowler, who is also one of our local MPs.
John is a great bloke and I’ve been hoping he would emerge unscathed from the hearings. That wasn’t to be and I think the Premier acted appropriately in sacking him from Cabinet and the parliamentary Labor Party.
The transcripts are available on the CCC web site and they don’t make pretty reading. It is impossible to escape the conclusion that Bowler was compromised in his dealings with lobbyists Brian Burke and Julian Grill.
Bowler reflected at one stage that he has trouble saying “no” to people and that’s clearly evident.
I’m still not comfortable about the phone taps and home surveillance, and I don’t wish to say that the end justifies the means, but there is no doubt Alan Carpenter is right in his comments and actions.
You can’t blame the lobbyists for doing their job either and seeking to exert influence, but as Carpenter said: “Brian Burke and Julian Grill only have this influence if people allow them to have this influence. They should not be allowed to have this influence, it’s as simple as that.”
There will be some interesting days ahead as local people get their heads around losing not only a minister, but also a Government MP, as Bowler has said he will sit now as an Independent.
Corruption and Crime Commission
The Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) has extensive powers. In addition to combating organised crime its role includes seeking “to reduce the incidence of misconduct in the public service”.
The commission’s powers include being able “to compel a witness to attend a hearing, to produce documents, to obtain a search warrant on application to a judge, to intercept telecommunications and use surveillance devices, to use assumed identities, and to conduct integrity tests”.
I’m not convinced it’s necessary or desirable to allow an investigative organisation the right to tap private phones without genuine suspicion of wrongdoing. The CCC’s inquiry into alleged misconduct by public officers seems to be very much a fishing trip, and without phone taps the evidence would be flimsy to say the least.
Even with the telephone evidence the private discussions are open to various interpretations.
The ministers who have been paraded before the commission have definitely been indiscreet. I don’t believe they are corrupt. I’m certain they are not the first ministers to leak cabinet discussions but they will probably be the last.
Politics is already a profession that has its leading players living in a fishbowl of public examination. It’s difficult to attract quality people to state politics in particular, and although party pre-selection processes leave a lot to be desired, it’s going to be even harder to recruit candidates who aren’t party hacks.
It’s fair game now in Western Australia for ministers to have their private discussions recorded and monitored. Not many people will be willing to live under that level of scrutiny.
In terms of the ministers currently before the commission, I can’t help but think that Premier Alan Carpenter is largely to blame for relaxing Geoff Gallop’s previous ban on links with lobbyists Brian Burke and Julian Grill. Carpenter blurred the lines and some ministers stumbled across it.
The fall-out isn’t good for the government or the people of Western Australia.
Howard’s babe boost
The fact that John Howard’s son Tim is going out with model Sarah Mackintosh was reported in Sydney’s Telegraph newspaper.
The dour conservative, apparently humorless elder Howard could be expected to raise the bushy eyebrows even higher over his son’s relationship with a woman who has featured on the cover of France’s FHM magazine.
Political commentators however think that J Howard will be secretly delighted with the publicity. It might just give him a leg up in the polls.
This post will probably affect my Gematriculator rating. My goodness has already slipped from 76 percent to 71 (idea borrowed from Delmer who is 31 percent evil).
Update: As foreshadowed, writing about a babe tipped this site into the badlands and it’s now just 47 percent good.
Ant scam exposed
With thanks to Harry Hutton, the BBC reported that a Chinese man has been sentenced to death for running a scam involving giant ants.
Wang Zhendong promised investors returns of up to 60% if they put money into the fictitious ant-breeding project. Wang raised 3bn yuan ($390m; £200m) in three years. The ants are used in traditional medicines and remedies in parts of China. Fifteen other staff members were fined and given jail terms of between five and 10 years. More than 10,000 investors signed 100,000 contracts with the company before the case was investigated in June 2005.
The death penalty is a little tough. In Western Australia he’d be regarded as an entrepreneur. He’d probably win a business award, be given the Order of Australia and have a political lobbyist on his payroll.
We’re heading for a “cool change” and 29 degrees on Sunday.
Conversation starters
We had a couple of interesting stories in the Kalgoorlie Miner this week which became real conversation pieces around the town. Neither story was a conventional hard news lead, but they were issues about which everyone could have a discussion and give an opinion. As an editor they are the type of articles you like to have in a tabloid newspaper.
The first one was about a cleaner who quit her job at a local business because the employer told her to wear a bra. Apparently that hadn’t been discussed at the interview and it wasn’t a condition of her contract. According to the cleaner, he handed her $30 and told her to go and get a bra. She resigned instead.
Our sister paper in Perth picked up the story which was also covered by commercial television. Everyone had an opinion including Federal Minister Joe Hockey, who visited Kalgoorlie on Thursday.
The other story was about racial bias in the Federal Government’s administration of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. A single mum from Boulder contacted us to say she couldn’t get antibiotic ear drops for her son, as recommended by a doctor, on the PBS and had to pay full price. The PBS subsidy is only available for indigenous people.
Our follow-up story rightly crystalised the issue as being that PBS discounts should be available on such medication for people according to need, rather than race.
Both issues had everyone talking.
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